by Sean Thomas
“Who are you?” I called out, stepping down the porch steps. No matter what direction the wolf went I would have a clear shot now.
He didn’t answer, obviously, but I waited for it to make a move. Shift back to human form or try to rush me. Those were the options.
That’s when I realized my dumbass didn’t pay attention to rule number 1 of the Hunter code. Always know your surroundings.
A flash of tan to my right. My body turned towards the movement, gun first, but I was too late. The force of the second wolf knocked me to the ground and the gun fell free from my hand. I instinctively rolled with it and was back on my feet as the fangs of the wolf snapped for my throat.
The force of my fist smashing into the wolf’s face was enough to turn his muzzle just out of my reach. Behind me. Padding hitting ground. My muscles were organic steel now. My four years of training lead me to this very moment.
I let the black wolf crash into me and as we fell backwards I kicked upwards with my right foot and flung the bastard into the side of the house. He easily weighed three hundred pounds. One heavy son of a bitch.
Gun, my brain screamed.
On my hands and knees I reached for my best friend as the tan wolf sank his teeth around the handle.
“Scratch that and you die.” The words flew from my lips. A death curse. A promise.
The wolf, signing his own death certificate, whipped his head to the side and flung my gun some yards away. My fingers dug into the dry earth, holding me back from jumping at the wolf.
The wolves stood together now. Manifestations of night and day. Whoever they were, they had known I was coming back to Amber Pines. Why me though? Was I just that lucky to receive a welcome committee the moment I stepped foot in town or did someone have it out for me? Marco and my father were the only ones who knew I was coming back and I trusted both men with my life.
I pushed the thoughts aside because this was survival of the fittest. This was life or death. I didn’t have my gun and while my body was as deadly a weapon as any, I wasn’t sure how far it would go against two supernatural wolves.
Their snarls sank bone deep. Spit flew from their lips and the air was damp with the rank smell of murder.
“Let’s do this, assholes,” I told them, tone even. They were on my property. At my home. They were dead already.
They roared in unison and sprang forward. My brain compartmentalized the scenario instantly. The tan wolf, leaning towards the right, would come at me from my left. I could see his trajectory. The black wolf was even footed and would hit me straight on. Classic tag-team move, similar to when the Maero twins tried to gut me two months ago at Santa Monica Pier. The difference, of course, was having my banshee sword with me. Now it was just me and my finely honed muscles.
The thumping of the wolves’ feet seemed to match the mach speed of my heart. The black wolf would reach me first and so I set my sights on him. Get to his left and he’ll be a barrier between the tan wolf and I.
What happened next was completely and utterly unexpected. From the corner of my eye another wolf leaped from the roof and came down like lightning sent from Zeus. The lone wolf smashed into the tan wolf with a repulsive crunch and with an effortless flick, snapped his neck. The black wolf, either unaware or uncaring, still leapt for me.
With its neck turned to the right, I could easily put my entire body weight under my left shoulder. The wolf still flew into me, but the upward force of my shoulder kept his jaw from tearing out my trachea. I was on my back, hands buried in the black hole of his fur, straining to keep the beast at a distance.
I was aware that I was screaming and before my human strength gave out the wolf was ripped off of me. The gray wolf, my savior, now engaged in a battle only wolves could fight. Teeth tearing, howls loud enough to strike fear into any mortal soul, and fur literally flying. Forcing the last of my adrenaline to sear through my veins, I ran towards where my gun had been thrown. My hand grabbed the cold steel and I whirled back to the tangled mess of the wolves, still fighting strong, and took aim. I narrowed my eyes and waited for when they separated. First chance I got and I was putting that wolf down.
Sweat dripped into my eyes and I was panting. Come on, come on, I silently cried. The black wolf gained the upper hand when the gray wolf attempted to bite his back leg. In the moment it took the gray wolf to reach around the black wolf sank his fangs into his shoulder.
I fired the gun twice and two bullets shot like meteors into the ground just feet away from them. The wolves broke apart for a moment and it was the opening I needed to take aim at the black wolf. His eyes narrowed and he kicked off in the opposite direction, flying around the side of the house.
The gray wolf started off after him and I screamed, “No.”
He turned towards me and huffed out a protest in what sounded like a Harley starting up. My scar instantly ignited and I winced from the pain, grabbing at the searing flesh. Blood dripped from the gray wolf’s snout and his head turned towards the tan wolf that lay limp.
Shit.
Now I had to dispose of a shifter body.
I looked back to the gray wolf who looked me over carefully. It unsettled me a bit, to watch amber yellow eyes take in my body with recognition.
“Hey Dash,” I said, looking away and trying to fill the awkward silence.
CHAPTER THREE
I sat on the edge of the tub in my adjoining bathroom and tried to act like I wasn’t in pain. Kneeling before me, shirtless and covered in dirt, was Dash. He was cleaning the deep scratches that the black wolf had left on my torso with cotton balls and rubbing alcohol. We had barely said anything since he showed up and it ate away at me that his face looked hardened with anger.
Was he angry to see me? If so, why did he peel my tattered shirt off and push me into the bathroom without a word to clean my cuts? He wasn’t looking at me and yet I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He was even more beautiful than I imagined he would be. His tan was much darker than I had seen and his scruff had evolved into a beard. When we were teenagers he always sported a five o’clock shadow, but this increased his sexy factor to a new height.
The definition of his muscles was more defined and rock like. Shoulders were broader and filled in. He had upgraded from a six pack to an eight. He was everything I could ever imagine in a man’s body and just like the first time I saw him some six years ago, I physically couldn’t stop myself from being in awe.
I watched as his sinewy, calloused fingers wiped blood from my side. It still amazed me that someone so rough could be so gentle. I much more preferred when he was rough in the bedroom, but this was nice too.
“Ouch,” I let out, as he dragged a cotton ball across a particularly deep cut.
“Stop moving,” he commanded, his voice heavy with stones.
“You stop…that,” I responded, mentally smacking my forehead.
Dash peered up at me and his hazel eyes swam like solar systems. He held my gaze for a moment and I couldn’t look away. These were the eyes I had been prepared to stare at for the rest of my life.
Then he pressed the cotton ball deeper into my wound.
“Hey,” I said, grabbing for his hand. He caught my wrist with his free hand and forced it to my side. His forcefulness stopped my breath in its place.
“Unless you want an infection I wouldn’t try to stop me.” He lowered his head and went back to work.
“Try?” I repeated to him. He said nothing. Dash had always prided himself on being the big rescuer, especially when it came to me. It seemed like history had a habit of repeating itself.
I rolled my eyes. “I bet you feel high and mighty right now.”
He usually did.
“Nope.” Was all he said. Yeah, he was mentally patting himself on the back.
“So, saving my life, just like when we were teenagers, doesn’t make you want to say ‘I told you so’?”
Dash gripped the sides of the tub and clenched his jaw. “No, it doesn’t. It makes me want to
ask what the hell you’re doing back here.”
“Excuse me?” I nearly yelled, shock and disbelief flooding over me from his words. “Did you seriously just ask what I’m doing back in my home town?”
“You’re back for ten minutes and already you’re almost killed.”
Rage replaced the air in my lungs and it burned me from my core. I was on my feet and pushing to get past him. I knew it was a mistake to come back here.
His tree trunk arms barricaded me in place. I tried to push him aside, but for all my strength he could have been a wall.
“You think I asked for that back there?” My voice held every ounce of malice I could muster. “How was I supposed to know rogue wolves would attack me the second I arrived?”
Dash wouldn’t meet my eyes and instead bore his gaze into my bare shoulder where he left the mark.
“You shouldn’t be back at all. For this very reason.” His voice was flat.
“What are you talking about?” My voice rang in the small bathroom. “When was I shunned from coming back?”
He still wouldn’t look at me. He just kept staring at my scar. I put my hand over it and turned away.
“You left this place for a reason. It’s not safe here. Especially not now.”
That was obvious.
“Why do you think I came back? Richton was just murdered. Someone is obviously after the pack and I think my welcome committee just proved that.”
“Who all knew you were coming home?” Dash asked.
Coming home. He referred to Amber Pines as my home. When I didn’t answer, he grabbed my arms and leaned into me.
“Who did you tell, Tanner.” The wolf growl rumbled along his words.
“Marco and my dad.” I finally let out. “Geez.”
He was touching me again and the smoky wood scent that emitted from his hot skin overpowered me. I couldn’t smell anything else. Couldn’t think of anything else. This was Dash, this smell exactly. It was as if he fought fires all night and then spent the morning tanning in the sun. I could easily fall back into my old pattern of licking that scent off of every inch of his body.
“Doesn’t add up…neither would betray us.” He shook his head defiantly. “Who else did you tell?”
“Nobody.” I insisted. “But who were those wolves?”
“Never seen them before.” His eyes danced wildly, searching invisible memories.
“So you have no idea why I was targeted?” Most days I felt like I had a supernatural bulls eye on my back.
“I’m thinking, dammit.” He turned, looking away.
And just like that he went from mouthwatering Dash to pompous ass that I really wanted to slug in the jaw. I wasn’t some disobedient child that he could tell off.
Dash’s fist slammed against the wall. “This is exactly what I knew would happen. You’re here for five minutes and you’re almost killed. I knew you would walk back into all of this.”
“I didn’t walk back into anything.” I jabbed my hand at his perfectly shaped peck. “The only reason I came back was to make sure my friends and my father were ok. And for the record, you’re not my Alpha, Dash. You don’t tell me what to do.”
Anger and guilt pounded in my ears and the room began to close in around me. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get away from Dash and his stupid face. This was all a mistake, just like I originally told myself. I was an idiot for ever coming back here.
“Get out of my way.” I pushed past him and headed for the stairs, wanting nothing more than the familiar confines of my Chevy. Screw this town and screw Dash…not literally this time.
“Where are you going?” He was in step behind me.
“None of your business, now get out of my house.” I flew down the stairs like they were on fire.
“You’re not safe out there.” Dash caught my arm.
“Whatever.” I ripped myself from his grasp.
I was spun around and he was instantly looming over me. Again.
“What part of it not being safe out here do you not understand?” His voice sliced through sharp lips.
“Why do you care? You made it very clear you don’t want me here.”
“Of course I care.” His brow crunched in confusion.
What? If he really cared then he did a shit job of showing it. Sure, he helped save my life from rogue wolves, but he practically blamed me for it.
“You think I don’t care?” His voice shook with anger.
I wanted to stay angry. I wanted to get in my car and leave. Show this place I was better than it, but guilt tugged me closer to him.
“Do you?” The words came out like a scared child, wanting to trust but not sure how.
Dash’s lips relaxed from pursed white to only slightly tense pink. His head looked down and away like a shamed puppy. “How could you ever doubt that?”
My heart pulled the emergency brake and left me skidding out of place. Dash still cared? Dash still cared. My face performed a five act play of different emotions while I tried to make sense of this. I really thought he moved on. I really thought Dash had wanted me to leave Amber Pines and move on with his life.
“Oh.” Was all I could say.
He surprised me again when his fingers found their way across my scar. Goosebumps rippled from the sizzling path his fingers left along my bare, torn skin.
In my anger I completely forgot I had charged out of the house without my shirt. His scent picked up strength and I realized he was covering me with it. Dash was blanketing me in a supernatural pheromone that told every other creature that I was accounted for.
My body gave in and I let myself fall into his orbit. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
If he cared then why did he wait this long to say so? Four years and not a word from him. He knew that by marking me there could never be anybody else for me. As hard as I tried, and try I did, there were never any feelings more than friendship for other men. Dash would always be the one, that was the price of being marked.
“You had a new life,” he said it like it made perfect sense.
“But if I’d known you still cared, I would have come back.”
Dash’s arms wrapped around my shoulders. “Which is exactly why I didn’t say anything.”
Whimpers protested from inside me. “We could have been together, though. Didn’t you want that?”
I hoped I wasn’t begging.
Dash’s chin rested against me and the warm release of his breath brushed past my ear. “I wanted you to live a full life more than I wanted you with me.”
But I could never truly live without Dash. I realized that now. It was through him I began my transformation into a man and my time without him that hardened my body and soul. Going forward I wouldn’t be able to live life at all if he wasn’t by my side. Well, shit.
I wrapped my arms around his torso and pulled him into me. We stayed like that until the voice killed our moment.
“Tanner?”
Marco stood at the end of the driveway, staring at us with delightful shock.
CHAPTER FOUR
Despite feeling all the relief and the urge to run through the woods, singing like a Disney princess, having Marco see Dash and I together still embarrassed me.
It wasn’t like the time when he walked in on us having sex, because that was kind of hot. No, this time I just felt exposed. Marco saw past the nakedness of our embrace and I wasn’t ready for that. A guy just finds out his first love still has feelings for him and he needs a little time to process that.
“So, you’re alright, though?” Marco asked for the second or third time.
“Yes, Dad,” I joked, remembering we were talking about the wolves. “I told you I can kick ass now.”
“That I believe.” He bobbed his head towards my biceps.
It’s weird to think that I was a scrawny kid back in high school. Always thin and super dorky. So dorky, in fact, that I had to throw my Batman plushie off the bed before Dash and I had sex for the first time.
“And you have a gun?” That he still couldn’t believe.
“I know, right? Apparently I’m a pretty good shot.”
“Impressive.” He winked and then sounded sad. “So I won’t get the pleasure of seeing you run around with a golf club anymore?
“Aw, come on. I was pretty good with that, you have to admit.”
Marco chuckled and brushed the long bangs from his face. He looked good with his shaved sides and his fluffy flat top. Mexican heritage gave him sunny, golden skin and a perfect hairline. Were it not for him being like a brother to me, I would have totally dated Marco. It was he who first involved me with the pack and eventually with Dash. There were definitely times I both silently thanked and cursed Marco for that.
“Hey.” Marco’s left leg began tapping wildly. “Can we talk for a minute?”
This was a 180.
“Suuure,” I answered cautiously.
Marco let out a huge breath.
“So, I’m telling you this because you’re my friend and I care about you and I want you to hear about it from me and nobody else.” He literally looked like a bobble head as his thumb tapped the steering wheel in sync with his leg.
“Marco. Dude, would you just tell me.”
“So, Dash has kind of been a little bit of a whore. Not a whore, whore, but he’s been seeing a few guys… for one night… at a time... a lot,” he said behind a fake smile and closed teeth.
Even though I was sitting I was falling. My head spun, a carousel on the loose, and the sunlight faded around me. Dash, the very Dash who just put his hands all over me and covered me in his scent, was sleeping with other people.